MacBook Air, Pro and Mac Mini M1: annoying bug keeps users stuck on screensaver

Some of the MacBook Air, Pro, and Mac Mini M1 users are reporting an annoying bug that gets them stuck on the screensaver. There is already a trick to easily get out of it. An update to macOS Big Sur should fix the problem quickly.

Apple MacBook Pro M1
Credit: Unsplash

With every major product release comes a bundle of bugs. And the new MacBook Air, Pro, and Mac Mini M1 are (almost) no exception in this regard. I have to say that very few issues have been reported since their release. In fact the first real problem is the one we are telling you about in this article. It seems mostly software and is therefore rather light since it can be corrected via a system update, knowing that Apple is rather responsive in this area.

Apple has accustomed us to tolerating a number of problems with every change of generation of macs. The MacBook Pros presented in 2016 with a new design suffered from chronic problems causing their ultra-thin “butterfly” keyboard to fail. There is also the problem of “flexgate” in other words of the display which degrades according to the position of the screen.

Macs M1: the screen saver activates at any time and locks the computer

Graphics problems have also been reported, as well as battery problems, or even thumping noise emitted sporadically from the speakers. Early generation issues have been gradually corrected in the months following the release of the 2016 model. Improvements that appear to benefit the latest M1 Macs. The issue that some users of new M1 Macs are experiencing is a bug that locks the computer on the screen saver under certain conditions.

One user says on Reddit: “My machine activates the screensaver for no reason while I am working. It is impossible to get out of it, the mouse moves but clicking or pressing on the keyboard does nothing. The only solution I have found is to close the screen of my MacBook for 4-5 seconds, before opening it again, after that the computer works again“.

u / BraveTransportation2 adds that the problem manifests itself “Sometimes more than five times a day”. Disabling the screensaver does not resolve anything. macOS ends up showing another screensaver. Numerous testimonials report similar issues that appear to be restricted to newer M1 Macs. Note that if you have the Mac Mini and are affected by the problem, the bug becomes even more annoying because it is impossible to “close the screen”.

Read also: Apple M1 chip shows its amazing prowess in a series of benchmarks

The only solution is then to restart the computer, or to create a keyboard shortcut that puts the screen to sleep, which fixes the problem when the computer wakes up.

Source: Mac Rumors